Article November 6, 2006 Issue

It meant more than do not steal

BY ROBERTA DEVER

OUR LAWNMOWER and my son's mountain bike were missing from the garage. I felt foolish that I'd left the door open—if only to run back into the house for library books. We'd recently moved into a neighborhood that for years had seen considerable poverty and crime. It was changing quickly, but some drug dealing and homelessness still remained. It appeared that I should have been more careful.

At first, I was ready simply to accept the theft, and actually felt kind of sorry for the person who'd stolen the items, thinking he or she may have been desperate for cash. My insurance company required a police report, and I called the police, merely as a formality. It didn't even occur to me that I might get the items back.

But as soon as I'd hung up the phone, a thought came to me—almost as if someone were speaking: "No one can benefit from breaking one of My commandments. You need to get those things back." I knew from experience that this was God speaking to me, sending one of His angels, which Science and Health defines as "God's thoughts passing to man" (p. 581). The commandment, of course, was one of the ten God gave to Moses: "Thou shalt not steal" (Ex. 20:15).